This invention relates to radioactive implants, methods of making them and methods of using them.
It is known to use external beam supervoltage or megavoltage conventional fractionated radiation therapy to treat subclinical microscopic metastases in surgically undisturbed lymph node chains and to sterilize the postoperative tumor bed after the tumor is grossly excised. The uses of external beam radiation techniques have a disadvantage that they are not able to safely treat solid tumors because the solid tumors require an intensity of ratiation that is harmful to the surrounding normal tissue.
It is also known to implant radioactive sources directly into solid tumors for the destruction of the tumors in a therapy referred to as brachytherapy (short-range therapy). This therapy permits the application of larger does of radiation.
In the prior art brachytherapy, the sources are generally implanted for short periods of time and generally are sources of high radiation intensity. For example, radium needles and iridium-192 ribbons have been implanted into tumors (interstitial brachytherapy) or radium-226 capsules and cesium-137 capsules have been placed into body cavities such as the uterus (intracavitary brachytherapy).
The prior art interstitial brachytherapy treatment using radium needles has several disadvantages, such as for example: (1) dosimetry is difficult and imprecise; (2) local failures are caused, mainly by the large size of the radium needles (approximately the size of a lumber nail); (3) it is difficult to implant an adequate number of the needles uniformly throughout a tumor to produce homogeneous irradiation because they are large sources; and (4) the needles can only be left in place temporarily, and must be surgically removed.
It is known to implant iodine seeds temporarily or permanently. The prior art iodine seed consists of the radionuclide adsorbed onto a carrier which is placed into a metal tube that is welded shut. It has the disadvantages of: (1) being relatively large to be safely implanted in large numbers in the human body; and (2) due to its construction, producing inhomogeneous radiation.
The prior art iridium seeds in ribbon consist of solid iridium wire cut into pieces and placed in plastic tubing, which is then implanted into accessible tissues temporarily for several days. These seeds work well, but because they must be removed their application is limited to a few accessible body sites. Also, they only come in one energy.
The prior art radium-226 intracavitary sources and cesium sources consist of metal cylinders containing radium salts or cesium. The have several disadvantages, such as for example: (1) dosimetry is difficult and imprecise; (2) they are bulky and difficult to use; (3) it is difficult to implant or otherwise insert an adequate number of the cylinders in the proper locations to produce homogeneous irradiation because they are large sources; (4) the cylinders can only be left in place temporarily, and under some circumstances, must to be surgically removed; and (5) general anesthesia is required to dilate the cervix sufficiently to place a source in the uterus.
The applications of brachytherapy are still severely limited by the unavailability of a wide range of implantable radioactive sources that have a wide range of gamma energies (radiation energy is related to the volume irradiated) and varying half-lives (radionuclide half-life affects tumor dose rate, radiobiology, and normal tissue effects). Also the limited number of sources currently available are still physically unsatisfactory in their construction. There are few low energy limited lifetime radioactive seeds such as gold-198 and iodine-125 seeds that may be permanently implanted into solid cancers.
It is also known to apply heat to tumors by implanting metals that may be heated by radio frequency radiation and to move heatable or radioactive members about magnetically for positioning them without excessive surgery. This is especially significant in the treatment of highly vascular tumors. The existing hyperthermia radio frequency treatment is not well adapted for easy combination with endocurietherapy.